Beyond Birthday's Case
by Navybluex
Summary: Snapshot is a girl that lives at the Wammy's. One day, she learns that A, one of L's future successors,commits suicide. And his closest friend, B, doesn't seem to miss him. What's going on? She needs to find the answer, and soon...


There I was, sitting on a chair in the garden, waiting for the sun to rise on a very early Sunday morning. But, the thing that bothered me the most was, what _was _I doing here? What was my purpose? I wouldn't be looking for the answers if I was at an ordinary garden, on an ordinary day, but no, no. I have never had an ordinary day. Growing up at the Wammy's House was different. It was a house for gifted kids.

When the sun started to appear from behind the mountains, I watched it very carefully, and saw the colour go from red, to orange and then to yellow. Just like the beginning on the rainbow. Would it ever go on? Would it ever turn green, then blue, and then purple?

I sighed, trying to ignore the useless thoughts and questions. I got up from the wooden chair my deceased parents had given to Watari, the owner of this house, and went into the house to have breakfast. I could easily smell the sweet scent of homemade bread and… burnt toast. Ugh, not so sweet, I thought as I stuck out my tongue in disgust.

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw something that made me jump in surprise. A person, a teenager just about my age to be precise, was sleeping on one of the kitchen chairs. His head was resting against the table, and his eyes were closed. His straight black hair was all over his face, and one of his arms appeared to be covering his ear. And he was drooling. His feet were hanging, because the chairs were like bar chairs, so it was not easy to reach the floor. When I took one step forward, his eyes flashed open. He looked at me, and I immediately recognised him. His big black eyes were unmistakable.

"Oh, good mornin', B. Did you sleep on the table?" I asked him. He was one of the others gifted kids, and was also known as Beyond Birthday.

"Uh…Yeah, I guess. Why are you up so early, Snap?" He answered his voice still rough.

"Well, I like to watch the sunrise on Sundays," I said, as I opened the pot of orange jam.

Then, suddenly, I heard the chair being pushed; I turned around to see B looking at me with intense eyes.

"Don't you know?" He whispered. "That's my jam. I had to go out and buy it. There's a cherry one on the bottom shelf," He said, as he deliberately took the pot out of my hands, and went back to take his seat.

Calm down, S, I thought. You know the guy has issues.

After putting the small amount of jam that was left on my bread, I took a seat beside B. If I sat across him, it would be worse, because he stares. At everyone. All the time. And also, it would be hard to not look. The way he ate jam was simply disturbing. He would tick his hand in the pot, and lick it all afterwards. I would probably end up barfing.

We ate in silence. But, sometimes he would ask me questions such as, "Why are you called Snapshot?" and, "Why Snapshot, not something easy and shorter?" – Easy and pointless questions only he would ask. But then again, if they were easy, why couldn't I answer them? That really struck a nerve.

"Hey, hey," He whispered, as he put his chair closer to me. "Can I tell you something?"

"Uh, I guess, if you want," I answered, not really sure of what he meant.

He snickered and looked around; making sure no one was there. "Today's my birthday," He finally answered.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. That was something Watari told us to never share with anyone, for safety reasons. "But you're not…" I was going to keep on talking, but he interrupted me. "I know, you're not supposed to tell anyone, but I had to tell someone. It's just so exciting," He slowly closed the lid of the jam pot he had just finished. Then I noticed that he was smiling and there was a light in his eyes. Because of that, I accidentally let out a giggle. He looked up and frowned, probably because of my 'unexpected response'.

"I'm sorry, it's just that it's the first time I've seen your real smile, in four years," I answered.

"Haha," he laughed softly. "Yeah, that's quite possible; I guess I rarely get excited."

I guess he's a bit like me, I thought. I don't remember the last time I burst out laughing, or even doing something that I wish would never end.

"Yeah," I answered in a low sigh, "It gets pretty boring around here."

He suddenly snapped his fingers.

"What's your sign?" He asked.

"Huh?" I asked in confusion. Did he just change the subject?

"You know, the horoscope. What's your sign? Virgo, Aries, Gemini…?"

"Oh," I said, realising what he meant. "I'm a Leo. Like, you, I guess."

"Yes!" He cheered. "Come to the garden at ten o'clock tonight okay? After dinner." He told me, not seeming to care if whether I was busy or not. Then, he was gone from the kitchen, leaving me confused, and somehow excited.

--

At lunch time, we were all called to the main room, where all the kids usually gathered together and Watari told us something important. Or, sometimes, we would even receive a message from L, the world's biggest detective, also the first kid in the Wammy's house. And today, that was the case.

When I got there, most of the kids were already there. The front seats near to the television screen were already taken. So, I decided to sit at the very back, since nothing was going to show up on the screen, except for a big 'L' in Old English font.

When everybody was there, Watari closed the blinds and the television screen turned on by itself. A big L immediately appeared.

"Children, there's something very important you must know," a synthetic voice said. It was L. He never revealed anything, to anyone. Sometimes it frustrates me, how he doesn't trust us.

"You're all aware that A and B are in line to be my successors. But, and unfortunate event has happened. A has committed suicide." He said. The whole room was silent.

What? A? But half a year ago, while he was still here, he was perfectly fine and happy… Was L certain it was suicide? Everyone in the room was shocked. Even Watari. No wonder, he was the second child to be accepted in the Wammy's house with B.

"Yes, with no doubt it was suicide. He wrote in his own blood 'can't take it'. This is an example showing that it will be hard to grow up in this house, and you will feel a lot of pressure. Mark my words." He finished off, and the television screen went off.

"Children, go have lunch, I will join you in a few minutes," Watari said, breaking the silence.

A few of the kids were brave enough to leave the room, but others were still in complete state of shock. Then, a big sob came from the other side of the room.

"Pay!" Another kid screamed, running after her. Then I remembered. P was very close to A. He was P's idol and a big brother. Must be horrible losing someone again, I thought.

After gaining full control of my legs, I stood up and walked over to my seat at the main table.

We all ate in silence, apart from when Watari made a toast for A. I would sometime look at B, to see how he was doing. I guessed he felt depressed, since he grew up with A. But to my surprise, he looked incredibly fine, eating spaghetti with his hands. I stared at him for a while, and when he sensed someone staring at him, he directly looked up and met my eyes.

"What?" He mouthed.

"Nothing," I mouthed in response, shaking my head, and went back to eating my pudding.

Why? I thought.


End file.
